Steven B. Wilson

NTT IndyCar Series driver Ed Jones has been cleared to drive in the INDYCAR Classic at Circuit of The Americas following a re-examination by Dr. Geoffrey Billows, INDYCAR medical director.

Jones sustained a small non-displaced fracture of the distal fourth metacarpal in his left ring finger when his No. 20 Ed Carpenter Racing Scuderia Corsa Chevrolet made contact with the wall during the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on March 10. Jones met with a hand surgeon in Miami in the days following the race and had the hand properly splinted.

This weekend’s NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race has a new name, and Martinsville Speedway has a new partner, as TrüNorth GlobalTM has partnered with the Speedway as the entitlement sponsor of the TrüNorth Global 250.

TrüNorth GlobalTM will use Martinsville Speedway as a platform to further advance its reputation as the leading provider of Class 3-8 warranty programs and services in North America, and the global industry leader in transportation-related warranty and commercial asset protection programs for the dealers, drivers, fleet and freight operators, and finance companies it serves.

“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to team with the Martinsville Speedway to sponsor this event in association with our NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series program,” said TrüNorth Global™ CEO, William Eskridge. “The racing program has provided us with numerous opportunities to engage with our dealers and warranty customers around the country as we continue to build our family of brands and introduce innovative, technology-driven commercial asset protection solutions to meet our customers’ unique needs.”

Martinsville Speedway President Clay Campbell said he hopes this is just the beginning of a long-term partnership with TrüNorth GlobalTM.

“I’m really excited about having TrüNorth GlobalTM come on board and that they see the value and exposure that Martinsville Speedway brings,” Campbell said. “TrüNorth GlobalTM is already involved in NASCAR on the team side, as the Official Commercial Truck Warranty of NASCAR, and now, with joining the track side, I feel this shows that they are committed to our sport and our speedway.”

The TrüNorth GlobalTM 250 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race is this Saturday.

Adult tickets to the race are $35 and youth 17-and-under are admitted free.

The fan-favorite Bristol Motor Speedway Transporter Parade is moving to the Food City 500 weekend and will see a return to its original route.

The BMS Transporter Parade is set to begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 4 at the Bass Pro Shops at The Pinnacle. The haulers will then begin the nine-mile trek as night falls, passing by historic State Street in downtown Bristol as well as two Food City locations before arriving at Bristol Motor Speedway around 8 p.m.

“It was important to us to have the Transporter Parade return to its traditional route, allowing our guests the best chance to see this popular nighttime spectacle,” said Jerry Caldwell, executive vice president and general manager of Bristol Motor Speedway. “When looking at our schedules, it made sense for this parade to be the Thursday night kickoff to an exciting Food City 500 weekend. We’re always working for the fans and we can’t wait to welcome everyone to the region in just a few weeks.”

Guests are encouraged to visit Bass Pro Shops at The Pinnacle to get an up close and personal look at the colorful haulers, which will be arriving throughout the day. Food City locations on Euclid Ave. in Bristol, Va. and Volunteer Parkway in Bristol, Tenn. will provide prime viewing spots as the transporters make their way to The Last Great Colosseum. A small section of grandstand near the pit gate will be open to allow guests the opportunity to see the transporters enter the Speedway and assemble in the infield.

Tickets for the Food City 500 weekend are available. Food City 500 adult tickets start at $55, while tickets for the Alsco 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series/Zombie Auto 150 K&N Series doubleheader start at $35. Guests can also add on a ticket to Bush’s Beans Pole Day for $10 or by bringing two cans of Bush’s Beans product to a BMS ticket booth with a Food City receipt. For a limited time, $50 Food City 500 tickets are available at all Food City locations.

BMS is committed to making race weekends affordable for the whole family. Kids’ tickets (12-and-under) are free to the Alsco 300/Zombie Auto 150 and Bush’s Beans Pole Day and only $10 for the Food City 500. Earlier this year, BMS introduced teen pricing. Teens 13-19 years old are eligible for half-priced race tickets. For all races, each child and teen must have a physical ticket in hand to enter the gates. The Bristol Motor Speedway ticket office is the only authorized location that can produce the free kids' tickets.

Fans who want to get up close to on-track festivities are encouraged to add a Pre-Race Pit Stop pass to their race weekend experience. The pass provides several amenities, including a cold pass for infield access, opportunities to see the teams and haulers up close, access to the new Food City 500 pre-race party, including the pre-race concert featuring Randy Houser as well as driver intros.

To purchase tickets to the Food City 500, please call 423-BRISTOL or buy them online at www.BRISTOLTix.com.

Every year The Orange County Fair Speedway kicks off their season with the fan-favorite Motorsports Show, a celebration of all things racing, not just OCFS's long history. Fans attending will have an opportunity to see NASCAR cars and drivers in addition to OCFS's weekly competitors in their DIRT Modified race cars.

This year, Stewart Friesen's rookie year no.52 Halmar International Chevy Silverado will make its second annual appearance, but it wont be alone. In addition to numerous classic race cars, northeast DIRT Modifieds, Slingshots and Karts, the show will also be hosting the ARCA series cars of John Ferrier and Tommy Vigh. Both Ferrier and Vigh are weekly competitors at OCFS who have branched out to the national, NASCAR owned ARCA series.

Tommy Vigh will be joined at a Q&A Panel Discussion Powered by Privy/We-Text, set to begin at 7pm est Saturday March 23, 2019. The panel will last about 45 minutes and fans will also have an opportunity to present questions from the audience to the line up of drivers that includes Vigh, OCFS Champion Jeff Heotzler, NASCAR Xfinity Series Driver David Starr and Daytona Winner and ARCA Team Owner Andy Hillenburg. After the panel discussion has concluded, the drivers will be available for autographs in the Extreme Energy Solutions/Extreme Team Racing Associates Display Area, located inside the OCFS Arena.

Fans can also anticipate a Saturday night appearance by Northeast DIRT racing's greatest driver of all time, Brett Hearn. Hearn, who has been aloof up to this point on where he will race weekly, has entered his 2019 Big Block Modified in the Motorsports Show, and is set to appear at around 7pm. All will certainly be hoping to hear an official announcement regarding his 2019 race schedule.

Poised to make their first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) start of the season, Spencer Davis and Rette Jones Racing (RJR) head to Martinsville (Va.) Speedway focused and determined for Saturday afternoon’s Martinsville 250.

Last month, Davis and RJR attempted to make the season-opening race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway, but a series of obstacles hindered the Mooresville, N.C-based team from making the starting grid.

Excuses aside, failure is not an option for the combination in the fourth Truck Series race of the season and the team feels well prepared to do battle at the historic Virginia short track.

Davis’s efforts for Martinsville will be supported by ALLPRO in the No. 11 Ford F-150.

ALLPRO Corporation is a business-to-business purchasing cooperative comprised of a network of independently owned paint and decorating product retailers. They serve over 280 such member retailers who represent approximately 1,400 storefronts located throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and parts of Europe.

“Can’t thank ALLPRO enough for their continuing support,” added Davis. “We started off the year with a top-10 finish for them in NASCAR K&N competition at New Smyrna and I’d think realistically if we can put ourselves in a good position during Stage 3 – we can come out of Martinsville with a boost of confidence and an opportunity to prove that we belong here.

“I know my crew chief and owner Mark (Rette) is giving us everything we can to get to the job done and in the race, I’m going to do my job to have a smart race so we can have a great finish.”

With 39 trucks pre-entered for Saturday afternoon’s race, Rette knows it’s going to be another race full of fast trucks and talented drivers – but he knows that Davis possesses the same capabilities despite his inexperience.

“We’re coming to Martinsville this weekend and holding nothing back,” added Rette. “Spencer is a gifted short track racer with tons of talent and has a knack for places like Martinsville. We’ve been working hard on our No. 11 ALLPRO Ford and know if the cards fall our way, we can have a satisfying finish.”

For Martinsville, Rette Jones Racing is also thrilled to welcome Priestly Demolition Inc. (PDI) who will serve as a major associate partner in the 250-lap slugfest Saturday afternoon.

PDI is a family owned and operated and is one of the largest and most trusted demolition contractors in Canada. They have the expertise and resources to handle any project while providing the personalized service of a small organization. Their highly trained team of professionals and top-of-the-line fleet equipment will help prepare you to build for a better future.

RJR is co-owned by Canadian entrepreneur and former race car driver Terry Jones.

In 33 career NASCAR K&N Pro Series East starts, Davis has earned one victory (Dominion (Va.) Raceway 2016), two poles, achieved 14 top-five and 23 top-10 finishes. He has also 224 laps led in event competition.

Davis, 20, also has five NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) starts to his credit – all in 2018 driving for Kyle Busch Motorsports (KBM). He earned two top-10 finishes including a career-best of seventh in his series’ debut at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.

The Martinsville 250 (250 laps| 131.5 miles) is the fourth of 23 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series races on the 2019 schedule. Practice begins on Fri., Mar. 22 from 1:05 p.m. – 1:55 p.m. A final practice session is set for 3:05 p.m. – 3:55 p.m. Qualifying is set for race day, Sat., Mar. 23 beginning at 10:40 a.m. The 32-truck field will take the green flag shortly after 2:00 p.m. with live coverage on FOX, the Motor Racing Network (Radio) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Satellite Radio, Channel 90). All times are local (Eastern).

For more information on Spencer Davis, please check out his Facebook page (Spencer Davis Racing) or on Instagram @spencerdavis_29.

Davis tweets too. Follow him @SpencerDavis_29.

The latest on Rette Jones Racing is available at RetteJonesRacing.com, the team’s Facebook page or Twitter @RetteJones30.

On Point Motorsports and Brennan Poole welcome back Bad Boy Mowers as Primary Sponsor for the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series event this weekend at Martinsville Speedway. For the second time this season, Poole will fly the colors of the Batesville, AR company on his No. 30 Toyota Tundra in the first short track race of the 2019 season.

“It is really cool to have Bad Boy Mowers on the truck for Martinsville this weekend,” stated Poole. “We debuted their sponsorship in the season opener in Daytona and we had a really strong run going for them before getting caught up in an accident. While I haven’t driven a truck at Martinsville before, I did compete in the big late model race there in 2009 and finished third - I feel that I had the race won before a late caution. So, I am very optimistic about this weekend and look forward to a very strong run in our No. 30 Bad Boy Mowers Toyota Tundra.”

Poole is coming off back to back top-20 finishes after a disappointing finish in the season opener in Daytona. The Texas native currently sits 15th in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series overall drivers’ standings.

"We had a great first experience teaming up with Brennan and the On Point Motorsports team earlier this year in Daytona," stated Bill Hurst of Bad Boy Mowers. "Brennan and the team have continued to impress and be competitive every time they unload. All of us here at Bad Boy Mowers love super speedway and short track racing and it doesn’t get much better than the “paperclip”. We are excited to unveil on our black paint scheme on the No. 30 Toyota and be the primary partner for this weekend in Martinsville."

The running of the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series 250 will be Saturday March 23rd and can be seen LIVE on FOX at 2:00 pm ET.

Talladega Superspeedway’s official hotel reservation service – DegaRooms.com – has hotel deals fans will flip over when planning their trip for the historic track’s tripleheader motorsports weekend, April 26-28. Reserve your room today and book early for the best location options and pricing available!

DegaRooms.com is the hassle-free, most economical way for fans to make room reservations for the much-anticipated GEICO 500 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race, MoneyLion 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series event and the General Tire 200 for the ARCA Menards Series.

Representatives at DegaRooms.com have screened hotel rooms for quality assurance and the guaranteed lowest available room rates publicly offered. DegaRooms.com offers hotels in the Birmingham, AL area and featured hotels include Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, Hyatt Regency, Westin, and more.

Select hotels on DegaRooms.com also offer an incredible shuttle service for those fans wanting to sit back and relax while the shuttle service takes care of their transportation needs. The buses will arrive early enough for fans to enjoy all the incredible activities the track has to offer on race morning, and the buses will depart the track approximately 45 minutes after the checkered flag waves. Shuttle services at participating hotels start as low as $45 per day.

To top it off, DegaRooms.com does not charge any booking fees or change fees. DegaRooms.com will send guests a hotel confirmation letter and follow-up during race week to give up-to-date schedules and weather information.

Fans can book their hotel by visiting www.DegaRooms.com. With just a few clicks, fans will be on their way to the biggest and baddest track in NASCAR.

For more information about Talladega Superspeedway’s tripleheader weekend featuring the GEICO 500, MoneyLion 300 or the General Tire 200, visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or call 855-518-RACE (7223).

The 2.66-mile venue is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year along with Transformation – The Talladega Superspeedway Infield Project presented by Graybar. The new Turn 3 Oversized Vehicle Tunnel, as well as the new Finish Line Premium RV area (includes full hookups) and new Infield Shower Trailers, are scheduled for completion in time for the tripleheader weekend. The culmination of the project will occur in October with a one-of-a-kind Talladega Garage Experience, which will feature “up-close” access, interactive attractions and enhanced amenities. For more information, visit www.talladegasuperspeedway.com/transformation.

StarCom Racing partners with CGS Imaging, a premier high-volume graphics manufacturer and digital printing company, for this weekend’s first short track race of the 2019 season at the half-mile flat cornered Martinsville Speedway in Virginia at the STP 500. Landon Cassill will grip the wheel of the SCR 00 Chevy Camaro for the 500-lap event and is poised to put on a good show and get the CGS Imaging Chevy a solid finish. The “Paper Clip,” as it is known, has a long rich history as one of NASCAR’s oldest and most historic tracks.

“This race track has a truly nostalgic feel about it,” said Michael Kohler CEO of StarCom Racing.” It’s going to be a mentally grueling 500 laps and we are excited to have CGS Imaging along for the ride!

StarCom Racing welcomes CGS Imagine aboard as its primary sponsor for STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway. Coming off a long West Coast Swing, SCR is ready to get back “on-track” with CGS Imaging and bring home a solid finish.

“CGS Imaging is excited to Partner with Starcom Racing as a sponsor of the 00 Car driven by Landon Cassill for this weeks STP 500 at Martinsville Speedway,” said CGS Imaging President & CEO, Chuck Stranc. “StarCom Racing is an up and coming team in NASCAR with a great group of people, and we are proud to be affiliated with them.”

To learn more about StarCom Racing, follow the team on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Snapchat @StarComRacing.

NASCAR’s West Coast swing is complete, and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is back on the East Coast to go racing at Martinsville Speedway. After a strong showing and posting a top-15 finish in Phoenix, Ty Dillon and the Germain Racing team will head to the historic Virginia track for the first true short-track race of the season. Finishing in the 15th position at “The Paperclip” last fall after running with the leaders throughout the event, Crew Chief Matt Borland is looking to use this season’s added downforce and restored horsepower to put together another impressive run for the No. 13 GEICO Camaro ZL1.

Stories from Martinsville

Martinsville Speedway is the only track that has hosted Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races every year since the division’s inception in 1949. Two GEICO Racing team members grew up in racing families and have been attending races at Martinsville since they were young children.

“I always went to Martinsville when I was really young. We would sit in the stands there because you could see everything from your seat. I have a ton of memories there, but one of my favorites is when they ran the Xfinity Series race in 2006. Darrell Waltrip had kind of come back, Toyota was just entering the sport, and I believe Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer went 1-2 in the race. I was sitting in the stands right between Turns 1 and 2, ate a couple Martinsville hot dogs and just had fun watching the race. It is such a fun racetrack to visit and enjoy.” – Ty Dillon, Driver

“All of my earliest memories of Martinsville are of going up there and watching Richard Petty win races. We would all sit in the infield to watch; it was just grass back then. They put on the kind of show with the type of racing that made me want to be around race cars and work on them. It was always one of my favorite tracks to go to as a kid, and it still is as an adult.” – Travis Owens, Front-End Mechanic

It is not often that a driver shows up at the famed Hickory Motor Speedway for the first time and walks off with a victory, but that’s exactly what 16-year-old Adam Lemke did on Saturday night. Lemke charged from fourteenth starting spot to finish sixth in his JR Motorsports prepared No. 98 in the first of the two 40-lap NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series features, and then outraced some of the most talented late model stock car drivers in the country to win the second feature event.

“I can’t believe I just did that!” the Hollister, California native said with a big smile after the event. “This was such a competitive field of cars. I would never have dreamed I’d walk out of my first night here with a win. I was getting a lot of heat on my back bumper the last few laps. I was determined to keep them behind me. That was so much fun! I can’t thank Bryan Shaffer, Josh Berry, Steven Civitarese, and Ernie Mayo from JR Motorsports enough for what they do. I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to have around me. Josh knows these tracks and the cars so well and has had so much success. To be able to learn from him is an incredible advantage for me. I’m sure I’ll learn even more when I have to race against him next weekend.”

Lemke, a part of the Team Chevy Driver’s Edge development program in conjunction with JR Motorsports and GMS Racing, is also a member of the CARS Tour’s “Touring 12” commitment program this season. He will return to Hickory this coming weekend for the second CARS Tour event of the season. In his initial outing with the series at Southern National Motorsports Park, he was forced to start the feature in a borrowed car after another competitor got sideways and came down the track in front of him in practice, leaving him nowhere to go but into the spinning car, putting his car out of action.

He now goes into the second CARS Tour event at Hickory this weekend with some momentum after two strong runs on Saturday. “Tonight’s outcome definitely gives me confidence going into the CARS Tour race,” he stated. “But I still have a lot to learn. I feel like we made progress every time I got in the car today and that’s important. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the MTP Tire 300.”

The MTP Tire 300 for the CARS Tour takes place this Saturday, March 23 at Hickory Motor Speedway in Hickory, N.C. The main event is scheduled for a 7 p.m. Eastern time start. Those who cannot make it to the track can watch the event via pay-per-view on www.carstour.TV.